Federal received Guns & Ammo's 2026 Ammo of the Year designation for its 6.5 Creedmoor +Peak, to appear in a coming issue, after the same Peak Alloy approach won in 2025 for the 7mm Backcountry.

The round shares conventional 6.5 Creedmoor outer size so it fits current rifles, yet a patented one-piece Peak Alloy case is rated for 80,000 psi rather than the 65,000 psi of brass, delivering as much as 300 fps extra muzzle speed, over 3,000 fps in some loads, comparable felt recoil, and about 300 fps more for a 130-grain Terminal Ascent than a brass counterpart.

It can also top 6.5 PRC by up to 100 fps from compact, light, short-barrel rifles often used with suppressors without a notable recoil increase, and Federal ammunition is sold at dealers nationwide and online.